TY - JOUR
T1 - Orienting to polarized light at night – matching lunar skylight to performance in a nocturnal beetle
JF - The Journal of Experimental Biology
JO - J. Exp. Biol.
DO - 10.1242/jeb.188532
VL - 222
IS - 2
SP - jeb188532
AU - Foster, James J.
AU - Kirwan, John D.
AU - el Jundi, Basil
AU - Smolka, Jochen
AU - Khaldy, Lana
AU - Baird, Emily
AU - Byrne, Marcus J.
AU - Nilsson, Dan-Eric
AU - Johnsen, Sönke
AU - Dacke, Marie
Y1 - 2019/01/15
UR - http://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/2/jeb188532.abstract
N2 - For polarized light to inform behaviour, the typical range of degrees of polarization observable in the animal's natural environment must be above the threshold for detection and interpretation. Here, we present the first investigation of the degree of linear polarization threshold for orientation behaviour in a nocturnal species, with specific reference to the range of degrees of polarization measured in the night sky. An effect of lunar phase on the degree of polarization of skylight was found, with smaller illuminated fractions of the moon's surface corresponding to lower degrees of polarization in the night sky. We found that the South African dung beetle Escarabaeus satyrus can orient to polarized light for a range of degrees of polarization similar to that observed in diurnal insects, reaching a lower threshold between 0.04 and 0.32, possibly as low as 0.11. For degrees of polarization lower than 0.23, as measured on a crescent moon night, orientation performance was considerably weaker than that observed for completely linearly polarized stimuli, but was nonetheless stronger than in the absence of polarized light.
ER -